He'll change his mind again soon enough. But if I was Marussia, I'd be a little bit nervous.

Also, he doesn't want to lose Ferrari. I know tgey're a big draw, but why not mention McLaren, Williams or even Red Bull?

yes. 2013 is a very big year for Marussia. they really need to get the stage of getting a point or 2 this season. But i really cant see either them or Caterham getting points for a 4th year running, which really isnt good enough to be honest.

I know that Marussia hasn't received a new Concorde agreement, so I would definitely be worried if I were them.

I disagree with the idea.

But in trying to see what purpose shrinking the field further (also I guess by his argument, Ferrari can forever kill the idea of running a 3rd car at least during Bernie's lifetime), I could see a twisted logic that would benefit him.

If Bernie is able to squeeze the field to fewer teams, it will create competition from teams to get one of those spots, which means it can become a bidding war among several teams for fewer slots and cause them to pay more for the honor, and therefore a bigger profit for Bernie. (I've felt this may also be the logic by cutting into the number of European races in favor of races in 'new markets' as the European promoters find fewer dates on the calender for them, they will ante up to be sure they are one of those dwindling spots, and pay more... granted attendance in those races will probably drop as promoters raise ticket prices to offset the higher costs of securing a date... but its pretty obvious it's all about the figures on the check, not in the attendance column so racing to empty seats is no issue for Bernie whether it be Korea or Istanbul or European circuits should promoters be forced to price out its customers because of trying to cover higher fees.)

I've always felt like Bernie has been both good and bad for the sport, but because its popularity, the good must outweigh the bad... but I'm getting the feeling in recent years its starting to tilt the other way more.

He'll change his mind again soon enough. But if I was Marussia, I'd be a little bit nervous.

Also, he doesn't want to lose Ferrari. I know tgey're a big draw, but why not mention McLaren, Williams or even Red Bull?

yes. 2013 is a very big year for Marussia. they really need to get the stage of getting a point or 2 this season. But i really cant see either them or Caterham getting points for a 4th year running, which really isnt good enough to be honest.

Yup, they need to be step it up, otherwise it's just a complete waste being on the grid.

Well, Bernie contradicting himself again, what a surprise! Bloody numpty.

scuderia_stevie wrote:

Also, he doesn't want to lose Ferrari. I know they're a big draw, but why not mention McLaren, Williams or even Red Bull?

Because Ferrari are huge in the "emerging markets". They are an "aspirational" brand that those with money in such countries are obsessed with. McLaren, Williams and even Red Bull barely register on this sort of scale. If Ferrari weren't part of the party these billionaire plutocrats would be less likely to stump up the cash to host F1. That's the thinking, and that's all Bernie cares about.

He does have a point however that they don't really add anything to the sport if they keep being backmarkers. I don't think he was really a fan of the new teams to enter and he was also one of the first to doubt USF1 would make the grid and his fears became true. Minardi was also backmarker for many years but there were moments they were regular points scorers and not always due to reliability issues from others. Minardi took a while to get competitive but others were competitive right away when they entered like Sauber and Jordan.

I can't really say that I would miss Marussia or Caterham can't warm to them.